(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for distinguishing Cordyceps sinensis, and more particularly to a laser level apparatus that is easy to use and has multipurpose uses.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Cordyceps sinensis (C. sinensis) is a complex having a sclerotium and a stroma and is grown from a bug-parasitized fungus that parasitizes in a worm of hepialus armoricanus oberthur. According to the Alexopoulos classification of 1996, C. sinensis belongs to the Cordyceps Fr of the Clavicipiyaceae of the Clavicipitales of Ascomycetes. Currently, there are about 400 species found on the planet, which belong to the Cordyceps Fr genus. Among those species, few possess medical ingredients; such as C. sinensis, C. sobolifera, C. militaris, C. hawkesii, and so on. Therein, C. sinensis is the most popular one. After pharmacological study, C. sinensis was found to have active ingredients for curing tumors, kidney inflammation and aging, and for improving immunizability. Therefore, C. sinensis has become one of the important topics with studies of medical fumgi.
Due to the important medical potential of C. sinensis, healthy foods containing C. sinensis ingredients are popular products for health-care and age-care. However, while C. sinensis is widely accepted, questions arise to what C. sinensis really is. What are actual ingredients of a C. sinensis? What characteristics does a genuine C. sinensis have? How to identify a real C. sinensis? So far, no assured answer for any of the preceding questions is provided. Until now, people studying C. sinensis or the related Cordyceps can only work on the species collection, description, and identification. Regarding the medical potential of C. sinensis, "existing some metabolic products with some active ingredients for disease-prevention" is the only conclusion that can be provided. Of course, in some literatures, some efforts have been made to further understand the aspect of the Cordyceps, particularly C. sinensis, in view of the nature variety of the sexless Cordyceps. However, due to the collection difficulty, identification and reservation of C. sinensis, and also due to the difficulty in artificially cultivating the stroma, a clear picture in classification and a genuine relationship between the sex generation and the sexless generation has not been found so far. Hence, the confusion in standardizedly distinguishing C. sinensis is still there.